I hate surprises in my liquor store business. “Oh, no! We’re almost out of sacks!” “We need to come up with money to cover the insurance payment!” “Why didn’t you remember to order the Oktoberfest last month?!” No one likes surprises like that, so I started using a perpetual calendar. Hanging above the current…
Cities and towns, urban and rural, face a lot of the same challenges. We share the same basic issues in trying to build prosperity: support businesses, maintain infrastructure, provide basic services, improve the quality of life, build a sense of place, support the arts, promote health, and all the other to-do items you can…
Each year, there are a few standard end-of-year tasks to complete. Right now, commit time on each Friday during January to work through the checklist until you are all finished. Count your inventory. If you sell or make products, take an inventory of all products or raw materials on hand at the turn of…
Tidbits from the Small Business Saturday Consumer Insights Survey, and what they mean for small town retail businesses: Nearly all (94%) U.S. consumers say that shopping at small businesses makes them “feel good.” That’s good news for small town retail businesses. It’s up to us to reinforce the good feelings by making the shopping experience…
Boring tools are boring. Old-fashioned ideas lack the excitement of shiny new tools. But if your business has a problem with following processes, I have a really boring old tool that can help. You probably don’t need to learn anything new. You probably know the processes in your business really well. You probably can list…
Small Business Saturday and its Shop Small slogan get a lot of attention, but they aren’t the only holiday shopping project small town businesses can join for more buzz this season. Shift Your Shopping Shift Your Shopping is a theme you can adopt for any local shopping campaign. The emphasis is on shifting more of…
The Small Business Saturday® celebration and Shop Small slogan are great for small business and most closely identified with founding partner American Express. This brings much-appreciated attention to local merchants and independent small businesses. In the US, it falls right after Black Friday (when customers rush big box stores for well-publicized deals) and before Cyber Monday (when…
Want to promote your local businesses? Use a social list-making site to collect the websites and social profiles of businesses in your area. I first heard this idea from Dave Shideler, back when delicio.us was the social bookmarking tool of choice. Today’s social list-making tools offer some key advantages. Why use social list-making tools? 1….
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